Decreasing miscibility with greater heterogeneity in ternary polymer blend: poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate), poly(α‐methyl styrene) and poly(4‐methyl styrene)

A ternary blend system comprising poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate) (PCHMA), poly(α‐methyl styrene) (PαMS) and poly(4‐methyl styrene) (P4MS) was investigated by thermal analysis, optical and scanning electron microscopy. Ternary phase behaviour was compared with the behaviour for the three constituent binary pairs. This study showed that the ternary blends of PCHMA/PαMS/P4MS in most compositions were miscible, with an apparent glass transition temperature (T_g) and distinct cloud‐point transitions, which were located at lower temperatures than their binary counterparts. However, in a closed‐loop range of compositions roughly near the centre of the triangular phase diagram, some ternary blends displayed phase separation with heterogeneity domains of about 1 µm. Therefore, it is properly concluded that ternary PCHMA/PαMS/P4M is partially miscible with a small closed‐loop immisciblity range, even though all the constituent binary pairs are fully miscible. Thermodynamic backgrounds leading to decreased miscibility and greater heterogeneity in a ternary polymer system in comparison with the binary counterparts are discussed. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Miscibility with positive deviation in Tg-composition relationship in blends of poly(2-vinyl pyridine)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(p-vinyl phenol)

Phase behavior and miscibility with positive deviation from linear T_g-composition relationship in a copolymer/homopolymer blend system, poly(2-vinyl pyridine)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (P2VP-b-PEO)/poly(p-vinyl phenol) (PVPh), were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C NMR), optical microscopy (OM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Optical and electron microscopy results as well as NMR proton spin-lattice relaxation times in laboratory frame () all confirmed the miscibility as judged by the T_g criterion using DSC. In comparison to the literature result on a homopolymer/homopolymer blend of P2VP/PVPh, fitting with the Kwei equation on the T_g-composition relationship for the block-copolymer/homopolymer blend of P2VP-b-PEO/PVPh blend system yielded a smaller q value (q = 120) for P2VP-b-PEO/PVPh than that for P2VP/PVPh blend (q = 160). The FT-IR and ¹³C NMR results revealed hydrogen-bonding interactions between the pendant pyridine group of P2VP-b-PEO and phenol unit in PVPh, which is responsible for the noted positive deviation of the T_g-composition relationship. Comparison of the shifts of hydroxyl IR absorbance band, reflecting the average strength of H-bonding, indicates a decreasing order of P2VP/PVPh > P2VP-b-PEO/PVPh > PEO/PVPh blends. The PEO block in the copolymer segment tends to defray the interaction strength in the P2VP-b-PEO/PVPh blends because of relative weaker interaction between PEO and PVPh than that between P2VP and PVPh pairs. A comparative ternary (P2VP/PEO)/PVPh blend was also studied as the controlling experiments for comparison to the P2VP-b-PEO/PVPh blend. The thermal behavior and interaction strength in (P2VP/PEO)/PVPh ternary blends are discussed with those in the P2VP-b-PEO/PVPh copolymer/homopolymer blend.     

Miscibility windows in ternary polymer blends of a polyester,polymethacrylate and poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile)

Miscibility, phase diagrams and morphology of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL)/poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PBzMA)/poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) (SAN) ternary blends were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical microscopy (OM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The miscibility window of PCL/PBzMA/SAN ternary blends is influenced by the acrylonitrile (AN) content in the SAN copolymers. At ambient temperature, the ternary polymer blend is completely miscible within a closed‐loop miscibility window. DSC showed only one glass transition temperature (T_g) for PCL/PBzMA/SAN‐17 and PCL/PBzMA/SAN‐25 ternary blends; furthermore, OM and SEM results showed that PCL/PBzMA/SAN‐17 and PCL/PBzMA/SAN‐25 were homogeneous for any composition of the ternary phase diagram. Hence, it demonstrated that miscibility exists for PCL/PBzMA/SAN‐17 and PCL/PBzMA/SAN‐25 ternary blends, but that the ternary system becomes phase‐separated outside these AN contents. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

The study on the conductivity of styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer electrolytes based on poly(ethylene glycol)400 and LiClO4

Polyelectrolytes, in this study were synthesized from styrene-maleic anhydride (SMA) copolymer, poly(ethylene glycol)400 (PEG400), and lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and magic angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR were used to monitor the interaction between Li⁺ ions and polymer. The results of FTIR and MAS solid-state NMR indicate the Li⁺ ions are preferentially coordinated to the ether oxygen of PEG. The T_g of the PEG segments in polyelectrolyte increases with LiClO₄ concentration, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), indicating that solubility of the Li⁺ ions in the host polymer increases with the PEG content. Impedance spectroscopy (IS) shows that the bulk conductivity of polyelectrolytes and the conductivity behavior obeys the Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher (VTF) equation.     

Surface morphology and Flory-Huggins interaction strength in UCST blend system comprising poly(4-methyl styrene) and isotactic polystyrene

The surface morphology and polymer-polymer interaction parameter (χ₁₂) of UCST blend systems comprising isotactic polystyrene and poly(4-methyl styrene) (P4MS) were investigated using atomic-force microscopy (AFM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). From the measured glass transition temperature and the specific heat increments (ΔC_p) at T_g, it was found that the P4MS dissolved more easily in the iPS rich-phase than did the iPS in the P4MS rich-phase. AFM result also supported that the compatibility increased more in the regions of P4MS-rich compositions than in the regions of PS-rich compositions of the PS/P4MS blends. From the measured T_g’s and apparent weight fractions of iPS and P4MS dissolved in each phase, the values of the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (χ₁₂) were determined to be 0.0163-0.0232 depending on the composition. These results indicate that the χ₁₂ is quite dependend on the apparent volume fraction of the polymers dissolved in each phase. The values of χ₁₂ calculated from this work (method based on T_g’s of phases) were lower than those estimated using an earlier method based on the UCST or clarity temperatures. All values of χ₁₂ are greater than the values of interaction parameter at the critical point (χ₁₂)_c. This fact indicates that the iPS/P4MS blend are immiscible for all blend compositions. The surface of the phase-separated blend system was mostly covered with the P4MS rich-phase owing to its lower surface free energy in comparison with that of the neat iPS. The mechanism of surface phase separation for the P4MS blends with aPS or iPS is governed by two factors: (1) difference in the solubility of the two polymers in the solvent and (2) surface free energy.     

Miscible blends of syndiotactic polystyrene and atactic polystyrene. Part 1. Lamellar morphologies and diluent segregation

Lamellar morphologies of melt-crystallized blends of syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS, weight-average molecular weight ) and atactic polystyrene (aPS, M_w=100k) have been investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). sPS/aPS blends with various compositions were prepared and crystallized isothermally at 250 °C prior to morphological studies. Due to the proximity in the densities of the crystal and amorphous phases, a weak SAXS reflection associated with lamellar microstructure was obtained at room temperature. In addition, strong diffuse scattering at low scattering vectors was evidently observed and its appearance may obscure the intensity maximum associated with the lamellar features, leading to the difficulties in determining the microstructure of the blends. To enhance the density contrast, SAXS intensities at an elevated temperature of 150 °C were measured as well to deduce the morphological results with better precision. Based on the Debye-Bueche theory, the intensities of the diffuse scattering were estimated and subtracted from the observed intensities to obtain the scattering contribution exclusively from the lamellar microstructure. Morphological parameters of the sPS/aPS blends were derived from the one-dimensional correlation function. On addition of aPS, no significant changes in the lamellar thickness have been found and the derived lamellar thicknesses are in good agreement with TEM measurements. Segregation of rejected aPS components during sPS crystallization was evidently observed from TEM images which showed aPS pockets located between sPS lamellar stacks and distributed uniformly in the bulk samples, leading to the interfibrillar segregation.     

Crystallization of a miscible propylene/ethylene copolymer blend

The crystallization behavior and morphological patterns of a miscible blend of two propylene/ethylene (P/E) copolymers that differed in ethylene content were studied. Metallocene-catalyzed P/E copolymers containing 3.1 and 11.0 mol% ethylene were chosen for blending. The difference in ethylene content was small enough to ensure miscibility of the pair in the melt, and the ethylene content was low enough to ensure that both were crystallizable. The blends were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), optical microscopy (OM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The complex melting endotherm of the blends consisted of a broad low temperature peak at T_m1, a high temperature peak at T_m2, and an intermediate peak at which was not characteristic of either constituent and depended on blend composition. The multiple melting peaks arose from distinct crystal populations. All the blends exhibited a mixed morphological texture of α-radial lamellae with short, densely packed γ-overgrowths, interspersed with areas of α-crosshatch. The high temperature peak at T_m2 was assigned to the melting of the α-radial lamellae which formed from chains of the lower comonomer constituent. The broad low temperature peak at T_m1 was attributed to the melting of γ-crystal overgrowths on the radial lamellae. The new peak at was thought to arise from the melting of the α-crosshatch lamellae. The lamellar thickness, and hence , correlated with the crystallization temperature, which decreased as the blend was made richer in the higher comonomer constituent.     

Studying the miscibility and thermal behavior of polybenzoxazine/poly(ε-caprolactone) blends using DSC, DMA, and solid state C NMR spectroscopy

Polymer blends of polybenzoxazine (PBZ) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were prepared by solution blending of PCL and benzoxazine monomer (B-m), followed by thermal curing of B-m. The miscibility and thermal behavior of these PBZ/PCL blends were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and solid state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The FTIR spectra indicated that hydrogen bonding interactions occur between the carbonyl groups of PCL and the hydroxyl groups of PBZ upon curing. The DSC results revealed that this PBZ/PCL blend system has a single glass transition temperature over the entire range of compositions that we investigated. The DMA results indicated that the values of T_g of the PBZ/PCL blends were higher than those of the pure polymers. In addition, at higher PCL concentrations we observed two glass transitions for the PBZ/PCL blends: One, for the PCL component, occurred in the low-temperature region and the other, for the PBZ component, in the high-temperature region; this finding indicates that PCL and PBZ are partially miscible in the amorphous phase. The most pronounced effect of the addition of PCL was to broaden the glass transition region, judging from the E″ peaks and the decrease in the value of the loss tangent (tan δ) in the transition region upon increasing the PCL content. We have also studied the ¹H spin-lattice relaxation times in the laboratory frame, , and in the rotating frame, , as a function of the blend composition. The results are in good agreement with those from the DSC analysis; i.e. the blends are completely homogeneous on the scale of 40-70 nm. The values of indicate that the PCL present in the blends exists in both crystalline and amorphous phases; the mobility difference between these PCL phases is clearly visible from the data. In addition, the amorphous phase of PCL is not miscible with PBZ; i.e. it is larger than 2-4 nm.     

Synthesis, characterization and thermodynamic properties of poly(3-mesityl-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate-co-N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)

Poly(3-mesityl-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate-co-N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) P(MHPMA-co-VP) was synthesized in 1, 4-dioxane solution using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiator at 60 °C. The copolymer was characterized by ¹H ¹³C NMR, FT-IR, DSC, TGA, size exclusion chromatography analysis (SEC) and elemental analysis techniques. According to SEC, the number-average molecular weight (M_n), weight-average molecular weight (M_w) and polydispersity index (PDI) values of PMHPMA-co-VP were found to be 58,000, 481,000 g/mol and 8.26, respectively. According to TGA, carbonaceous residue value of PMHPMA-co-VP was found to be 6% at 500 °C. Also, some thermodynamic properties of PMHPMA-co-VP such as the adsorption enthalpy, ΔH_a, molar evaporation enthalpy, ΔH_v, the sorption enthalpy, , sorption free energy, , sorption entropy, , the partial molar free energy, , the partial molar heat of mixing, , at infinite dilution was determined for the interactions of PMHPMA-co-VP with selected alcohols and alkanes by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) method in the temperature range of 323-463 K. According to the specific retention volumes, , the weight fraction activity coefficients of solute probes at infinite dilution, , and Flory-Huggins interaction parameters, between PMHPMA-co-VP-solvents were determined in 413-453 K. According to and , selected alcohols and alkanes were found to be non-solvent for PMHPMA-co-VP at 413-453 K. The glass transition temperature, T_g, of the PMHPMA-co-VP found to be 370 and 363 K, respectively, by IGC and DSC techniques, respectively.     

Physicochemical characterization of poly(tert-butyl acrylate-b-methyl methacrylate) prepared with atom transfer radical polymerization by inverse gas chromatography

Poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PtBuA) was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using methyl-2-bromo propionate (MBP) as an initiator in bulk at 80 °C. The successive ATRP of methyl methacrylate in diphenyl ether at 80 °C using previously obtained PtBuA as a macroinitiator led to formation of poly(tert-butyl acrylate-b-methyl methacrylate) (poly(tBuA-b-MMA)). The synthesized macroinitiator and block copolymer have controlled molecular weight and low polydispersity (M_w/M_n<1.2). The block copolymer was characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and ¹H NMR. The retention diagrams of poly(tBuA-b-MMA) for some aliphatic esters and aromatic hydrocarbons were obtained using inverse gas chromatography (IGC) technique. The glass transition temperatures, T_gs of poly(tBuA-b-MMA) were determined by both differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and IGC. It was observed that the block copolymer represents three T_gs at 50, 75 and 100 °C by IGC although it represents only one T_g at 71 °C by DSC. After the column was quenched from 180 to 0 °C, the T_g at 100 °C shifted to 105 °C however others did not change. Specific retention volumes, and the thermodynamical polymer-solvent interaction parameters such as Flory-Huggins, , equation-of-state, and effective exchange energy, X_eff were found for all studied solvents. Partial molar heat of sorption, , partial molar heat of mixing, and molar heat of vaporization, ΔH_v, were determined. In addition, the solubility parameter of the corresponding block copolymer, δ₂ was determined as 11.0 (cal/cm³)^1/2 at 25 °C.     

Mechanical properties, morphology and molecular characteristics of poly(ethylene terephthalate) toughened by natural rubber

The melt blending of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and natural rubber (NR) in a twin-screw extruder is studied. Parameters affecting the blend properties such as the amounts of the NR in the blends and screw speeds are investigated. Increased toughness of the PET/NR blend was found as the amount of NR was increased. The impact strength of the PET/NR (80/20 wt%) blend using a screw speed of 100 rpm, increased up to seven-fold when compared to that of pure PET. The morphology of the blend was investigated by SEM. The molecular characteristic was evaluated by spectroscopic technique. The toughening effect of NR on the PET might come from the possible interaction between the two phases, which was clearly evidenced by solid-state CP/MAS ¹³C NMR data. The data revealed an increase in the cross polarization time (T_D) of the carbonyl carbon and a decrease of the relaxation of the carbonyl groups in the PET/NR blend. This should come from the interaction between the carbonyl group of PET with some abnormal groups such as hydroxyl function in the NR, resulting in an improvement of the compatibility of the studied blends.     

NMR evidence of different conformations of structure-directing cyclohexylamine in high-doped AlPO4-44 materials

A series of high-crystalline ZnAPSO-44 samples have been successfully synthesised using cyclohexylamine as structure-directing agent, keeping a constant (Si + Zn)/(Al + P) ratio of 0.25 and systematically varying the Si/Zn ratio. Chemical analyses by ICP shows a good correlation between the heteroatom (Si and/or Zn) content of the samples and that of the initial gels. A combination of single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction techniques evidences a high crystallinity and a total purity for all samples. In addition, single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of the samples from which large crystals could be isolated, allow us to certify that either the whole or the majority of the cyclohexylamine molecules adopt a NH₂- or -equatorial conformation inside of the pores. Furthermore, for the first time, ¹H MAS NMR spectroscopy was used as a proof of the protonation of SDA molecules within the microporous materials, unequivocally indicating that cyclohexylamine molecules were protonated. ¹³C MAS NMR studies indeed corroborated such protonation state of the SDA molecules and, more importantly, allowed to detect the presence of a mixture of -equatorial and -axial conformers of cyclohexylamine in the Si-richest samples, the former being always the dominant. Based on both ¹³C and ²⁹Si cross-polarization MAS NMR measurements as well as on the calculated interaction energies of the two conformers as a function of the framework composition, it is proposed that this non-described -axial conformation of cyclohexylammonium within the microporous materials was associated to the presence of SiO₂ islands into the AlPO₄ framework, whereas the -equatorial conformer was the only one found in the case of isolated incorporation of Si⁴⁺ (and/or Zn²⁺) ions.     

Morphological study on three kinds of two-dimensional spherulites of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)

Three kinds of thin film specimens, each of which containing one of the three types of two-dimensional poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) spherulites (i: usual-positive type, ii: usual-negative type, and iii: unusual type), were prepared and studied mainly by transmission electron microscopy. It was confirmed that all these kinds of spherulites are made up of only the α-modification crystals, and the growth directions for usual-positive type, usual-negative type, and unusual type are the [010]^∗, ^∗, and ^∗ directions in the reciprocal lattice, respectively. Furthermore, the arrangement of unit cell in each type of the spherulites was determined. The relationships between the arrangements of unit cell and the types of each resulting spherulite are discussed.     

Syntheses and specific interactions of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-b-vinyl pyrrolidone) diblock copolymers and comparisons with their corresponding miscible blend systems

Combination of atom transfer radical and conventional free radical polymerizations has been successfully used to prepare poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-b-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PHEMA-b-PVP) copolymers with controlled molecular weight and low polydispersity (<1.4). The thermal behavior and specific interaction of PHEMA-b-PVP diblock copolymers and their corresponding PHEMA/PVP blends were characterized. The result shows that glass transition temperatures of diblock copolymers analysed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) are higher than those of the blends. Infrared and solid-state NMR spectroscopic analyses show that hydrogen-bonding interaction of hydroxyl-carbonyl groups of diblock copolymers was also greater than that of the blends. Measurement of the proton spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame, , reveals that all diblock copolymers and blends possess one composition-dependent , indicating that both diblock copolymers and blends are homogeneous, which is consistent with the DSC analysis.